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On this dayOctober 15

Through history43 events, 239 births and 98 deaths in Wikipedia's lists for the date

Today

A hundred years before

The front pages of October 15, 1926

What 72 American newspapers printed that day, as the Library of Congress keeps them.

MEDIA
The front page of The Alaska fisherman, Juneau, Alaska, October 15, 1926The Alaska fishermanJuneau, AlaskaRead it, zoom in, mark it →
63 more front pages that day

All 72 front pages at the Library of Congress ↗From Chronicling America. Public domain: in the Library's words, newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety.

What happened

On October 15

The anniversaries Wikipedia's editors chose for the date, oldest first.

REFERENCE
  1. 1529497 years ago

    Ottoman–Habsburg wars: The siege of Vienna ended with Austrian forces repelling the invading Turks, turning the tide against almost a century of conquest in Europe by the Ottoman Empire. · Ottoman wars in Europe

    Photo: ElanoragaCC BY 4.0
  2. 1815211 years ago

    Napoleon began his exile on Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, which would encompass his final six years. · Napoleon's exile to St. Helena

    Photo: Jacques-Louis DavidPublic domain
  3. 1864162 years ago

    American Civil War: Confederate forces captured Glasgow, Missouri, although it had little long-term benefit as Price's Missouri Expedition was defeated a week later. · Confederate States of America · Battle of Glasgow, Missouri

    Photo: Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt IvesPublic domain
  4. 1888138 years ago

    The "From Hell" letter, allegedly from Jack the Ripper, was sent to George Lusk, the chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee in London. · From Hell letter

    Photo: author on the file pagePublic domain
  5. 193294 years ago

    Air India (modern aircraft pictured), the flag carrier airline of India, began operations under the name Tata Airlines.

    Photo: Mark BessCC BY-SA 2.0
  6. 195472 years ago

    Hurricane Hazel made landfall in the Carolinas in the United States before moving north to Toronto in Canada later the same day, killing 176 people in the two countries.

    Photo: NOAA LibraryPublic domain
  7. 196561 years ago

    Vietnam War protests: At an anti-war rally in New York City, David J. Miller burned his draft card (example pictured), the first such act to result in arrest under a new amendment to the Selective Service Act. · Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War · Draft-card burning

    Photo: By S.Sgt. Albert R. Simpson. Department of Defense. Department of the…Public domain
  8. 196759 years ago

    The Motherland Calls (depicted in coat of arms), a colossal statue in Volgograd, Russia, which commemorates the casualties of the Battle of Stalingrad, was dedicated, becoming the then-tallest statue in the world. · List of tallest statues

  9. 197947 years ago

    President Carlos Humberto Romero of El Salvador was overthrown and exiled in a military coup d'état. · 1979 Salvadoran coup d'état

    Photo: author on the file pagePublic domain
  10. 199630 years ago

    The Irish Criminal Assets Bureau was established following the gangland murders of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe and investigative journalist Veronica Guerin. · Killing of Jerry McCabe

  11. 200620 years ago

    An earthquake registering 6.7 Mw occurred off the northwestern coast of the island of Hawaiʻi. · 2006 Kiholo Bay earthquake · Moment magnitude scale

  12. 200719 years ago

    New Zealand Police conducted several anti-terrorism raids in relation to the discovery of an alleged paramilitary training camp in the Urewera mountain ranges, arresting 17 people and seizing four guns and 230 rounds of ammunition. · 2007 New Zealand police raids · Te Urewera

    Photo: ThomasVenelliCC0
  13. 201115 years ago

    Global demonstrations against economic inequality, corporate influence on government, and other issues, were held in more than 950 cities in 82 countries. · 15 October 2011 global protests

    Photo: Authors of the files (by the same order of the files): Roland zh ،…CC BY-SA 3.0
  14. 201313 years ago

    A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Bohol in the Philippines, resulting in 222 deaths. · 2013 Bohol earthquake

    Photo: P199CC BY-SA 3.0
  15. 20188 years ago

    Thirteen-year-old Jayme Closs was kidnapped from her home in Barron, Wisconsin, and held captive for 88 days. · Kidnapping of Jayme Closs

    Photo: Wisconsin Department Of JusticePublic domain
All 43 events Wikipedia lists for October 15, by year

Reading the list…

Born

On October 15

The best-known first, counted by the Wikipedia languages with an article on each.

REFERENCE
  1. 1844Friedrich NietzscheGerman composer, poet, and philosopher (died 1900)256 languagesPhoto: Friedrich Hermann HartmannPublic domain
  2. 70 BCVirgilRoman poet (died 19 BC)245 languagesPhoto: Boyd DwyerPublic domain
  3. 1542AkbarMughal emperor (died 1605)168 languagesPhoto: Govardhan / Mir Ali HeraviPublic domain
  1. 1814Mikhail Lermontov, Russian author, poet, and painter (died 1841)128
  2. 1926Michel Foucault, French historian and philosopher (died 1984)128
  3. 1988Mesut Özil, German footballer106
  4. 1931A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Indian engineer, academic, and politician, 11th President of India (died 2015)102
  5. 1608Evangelista Torricelli, Italian physicist and mathematician (died 1647)93
  6. 1923Italo Calvino, Italian novelist, short story writer, and journalist (died 1985)89
  7. 1920Mario Puzo, American author and screenwriter (died 1999)87
  8. 1968Didier Deschamps, French footballer and manager78
  9. 1908John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian-American economist and diplomat, 7th United States Ambassador to India (died 2006)76
  10. 1914Mohammed Zahir Shah, Afghan king (died 2007)72
  11. 1944Sali Berisha, Albanian cardiologist and politician, 2nd President of Albania72
  12. 1977David Trezeguet, French footballer70
  13. 1881P. G. Wodehouse, English novelist and playwright (died 1975)66
  14. 1943Penny Marshall, American actress, director, and producer (died 2018)65
  15. 1944David Trimble, Northern Irish lawyer and politician, 3rd First Minister of Northern Ireland, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2022)64
  16. 1829Asaph Hall, American astronomer and academic (died 1907)61
  17. 1894Moshe Sharett, Ukrainian-Israeli lieutenant and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Israel (died 1965)58
  18. 1959Sarah Ferguson57
  19. 1981Elena Dementieva, Russian tennis player56
  20. 1938Fela Kuti, Nigerian musician and activist (died 1997)55
  21. 1971Andy Cole, English footballer and coach52
Everyone else born on October 15: 215 more, by year

Reading the list…

Died

On October 15

The best-known first, counted by the Wikipedia languages with an article on each.

REFERENCE
  1. 55 BCLucretiusRoman poet and philosopher (born 98 BC)125 languagesPhoto: Designed by “T. C.” (possibly Thomas Creech, died 1700); drawn and…Public domain
  2. 1946Hermann GöringGerman general and Nazi politician, convicted Nuremberg war criminal (born 1893)111 languagesPhoto: Charles Alexander, Office of the United States Chief of CounselPublic domain
  3. 925RhazesPersian polymath (born 864)97 languagesPhoto: Hossein BehzadPublic domain
  1. 1987Thomas Sankara, Burkinabe captain and politician, 5th President of Burkina Faso (born 1949)97
  2. 1917Mata Hari, Dutch dancer and spy (born 1876)91
  3. 2012Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Cambodia (born 1922)91
  4. 2018Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, philanthropist, owner of the Seattle Seahawks (born 1953)86
  5. 1564Andreas Vesalius, Belgian-Greek anatomist, physician, and author (born 1514)84
  6. 1934Raymond Poincaré, French lawyer and politician, 10th President of France (born 1860)79
  7. 1959Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian soldier and politician (born 1909)79
  8. 1389Pope Urban VI (born 1318)76
  9. 1817Tadeusz Kościuszko, Polish-Lithuanian general and engineer (born 1746)73
  10. 1945Pierre Laval, French lawyer and politician, 101st Prime Minister of France, convicted Vichy collaborator (born 1883)63
  11. 961Abd-al-Rahman III, caliph of Córdoba60
  12. 1240Razia Sultana, sultan of Delhi (born 1205)60
  13. 1964Cole Porter, American composer and songwriter (born 1891)59
  14. 2000Konrad Emil Bloch, Polish-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1912)58
  15. 1989Danilo Kiš, Serbian novelist, short story writer, essayist and translator. (born 1935)52
  16. 1940Lluís Companys, Catalan lawyer and politician, President of Catalonia (born 1882)50
  17. 898Lambert of Italy (born 880)47
  18. 1918Sai Baba of Shirdi, Indian guru and saint (born 1838)46
  19. 892Al-Mu'tamid, Abbasid caliph41
  20. 412Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria39
  21. 1173Petronilla of Aragon (born 1135)39
Everyone else died on October 15: 74 more, by year

Reading the list…

Observed

On October 15

Holidays, feast days and observances, as Wikipedia lists them for the date.

REFERENCE

Christian feast day

Events, births, deaths and observances are Wikipedia's On this day for October 15, in its editors' words (CC BY-SA 4.0); the counts of languages are Wikidata's (CC0). Dates are the UTC day, as Wikipedia keeps them. Discover brings one of these at a time.